Ius Chasma Landslide

Today's VIS image shows a large landslide deposit on the floor of Ius Chasma. The surface of the landslide deposit has linear grooves that formed parallel to the direction of the flow downhill, and rough ridges that formed perpendicular to the downhill flow. These are common features on landslide deposits.

Ius Chasma is at the western end of Valles Marineris. Valles Marineris is over 4000 kilometers long, wider than the United States. Ius Chasma is almost 850 kilometers long (528 miles), 120 kilometers wide and over 8 kilometers deep. In comparison, the Grand Canyon in Arizona is about 175 kilometers long, 30 kilometers wide, and only 2 kilometers deep. The canyons of Valles Marineris were formed by extensive fracturing and pulling apart of the crust during the uplift of the vast Tharsis plateau.